LONDON, Ont. - Laurier stayed hot in Friday night's match against the Western Mustangs. The Golden Hawks came out on top 5-2 for their third win in a row and eighth in their last ten games.
The Mustangs opened the scoring 5:40 into the first as Zach Power found the back of the net for his fourth of the season.
It looked like the Mustangs would head into the first intermission with a lead, but with 29 seconds remaining first-year Golden Hawk Eli Reimer jammed home a loose puck in the crease for his second goal in as many games.
Midway through the second period, Nick Giunta swiftly ended Laurier's first power play of the game and picked up his ninth goal of the season to give the Golden Hawks the lead.
Laurier's leading goal scorer, Sam Rhodes, struck again in this game to extend the purple and gold lead. Reimer and Conor Ali assisted on Rhodes' 13th of the campaign.
Patrick Brown further extended Laurier's lead early in the third period. Declan Graham hit Brown with a nice stretch pass and he was able to walk in and slip the puck through the five-hole of the Mustangs netminder.
Western's play around the halfway point of the period began to turn the momentum in their favour. Eventually Andrew Bruder was able to beat Laurier's Christian Propp with a long shot through traffic to make it a 4-2 game.
The Golden Hawks were ultimately able to weather the storm and Conor Ali scored on Western's empty net to seal Laurier's win, 5-2.
Propp was solid again in this one. He stopped 33 of 35, good enough for a 0.942 save percentage.
The Golden Hawks special teams were also solid tonight. Laurier converted on 1 of 4 power play opportunities and successfully killed off three penalties, scoring a short handed goal in the process.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the win last night, the Golden Hawks slide into the 6th spot with 24 points. Above the Golden Hawks, sit Nipissing and Windsor, with 25 and 26 points respectively. Below Laurier sit the Lakehead Thunderwolves and Guelph Gryphons who are tied for 7th place with 22 points. The Thunderwolves have a game in hand on Laurier, so finding a way to get points in the remaining games is crucial for playoff positioning.
PLUS/MINUS
Plus + New Season High
With his goal and assist tonight, Conor Ali set a new season high in points with 12 (4G, 8A), beating last seasons total of 11 (1G,10A). A defenseman who has found a home up front as of recent has settled in great. 'Mo' has taken his game to another level this year.
Plus + Golden Hawk Hawkey
As of recent, the Golden Hawks have found their game. They have won 8 of their last 10 and averaged 3.7 goals per game over that span. In the 10 games preceding this stretch, they averaged only 2.2.
The Golden HawkS goalies have also been phenomenal. Propp and Shingarov share 0.925 save percentages and have stopped an absurd amount of rubber.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks return home next weekend for games on back-to-back nights. On Friday, they host RMC at 7 p.m.. The purple and gold then welcome Queen's on Saturday for Seniors night. Puck drop is also at 7 p.m.
